


Without You

by Wordie Thinks Someday (thegreatwordologist)



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: College Setting, F/M, Hate Crimes, Incomplete - On Hiatus, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader is non-traditional student, hate groups, monster discrimination, reader is female, tags updated as I need them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-17
Updated: 2016-06-06
Packaged: 2018-06-09 00:14:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6881458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegreatwordologist/pseuds/Wordie%20Thinks%20Someday
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some of your classmates stand out in your mind more than others.</p><p>Of course, a skeleton would be the one to top the list....</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Tour

**Author's Note:**

> So I started this story as something of a writing exercise for myself. I wanted to teach myself how to get into better writing habits over the summer, while I didn't have as much going on, which means I'm aiming for at least 1k words a day in writing. After I've got a couple of chapters up for this, I'm going to set out to create a writing schedule for this and ColorTales.
> 
> Of course, I also started this to practice writing Reader-insert fics. I look forward to the challenge.
> 
> If you'd like to get to know me better, feel free to leave a comment or drop by [my tumblr](http://thegreatwordologist.tumblr.com). I welcome attention!

You sat back in your chair, scrolling through Wikipedia in disinterest as you glanced at the clock once more. Another two hours before you could close up and head home, and while you loved the peace and quiet of the Student Center so late in the evening, it was that very peace that made it so boring. It may be too early to close down, you supposed as you finally typed in the URL to Netflix, but with no one around, and no studying to do, that just meant that you had a bit of time to kill. You could probably make it most of the way through a movie before it was time to go, if Netflix had any good suggestions for you.

You were just beginning to dig through the recommendations (and regret letting your niece watch all those mermaid movies) when a beep notified you that someone had come into the Center through the far entrance - the only entrance you couldn’t see from your seat. Sighing, you rose, reaching for your purse to grab a couple of dollars out. While you were up checking to see who had walked in, you might as well get yourself something to drink from the vending machine. You still had quite a while to go, after all. Stepping out of the little office, you looked down the hall, then froze.

It was no secret that monsters were around now. Their arrival on the surface had been covered so much by the news that even you couldn’t avoid it, despite your rabid avoidance of newspapers and newscast. And the coverage had gone on, and on, until you were reminded of the Simpson trials and the joke that they’d become. But you kept such nasty comparisons inside your own head. After all, you didn’t want to hurt anyone. And, if you were being honest with yourself, being a non-traditional student was rough enough without dating yourself that way. So no OJ quips, no complaints… just silence on your part about the monster coverage. After all, who were you to comment, when you’d never even met a monster?

Well, now was your chance…

The skeleton at the far end of the building was standing between the racquetball courts, dark eyes looking around slowly enough to give you a sense that perhaps it was looking for something in particular. And even though the sight made you a little uncomfortable, you sighed and started down the hall. It looked up at the squeak of your rubber soles on the floor, and you offered what you hoped was a gentle smile. The expression felt a bit more forced than the ones you gave to the other students, but you had worked in retail before this, and a customer service smile was a fairly common mask on your face.

“Hi,” you call out, lifting one hand briefly as the skeleton stared at you without moving. “Can I help you with something?” You paused near the security phone out of habit, and its eye sockets narrowed at you. In that instant, you went from anxious to fascinated. Its skull moved. How did it do that?!

“Nah.” The answer shifted your head a bit. Not it. Him. Okay, well… that would be easier to work with, if you were right, anyway. “Just wanted to get a feel for the place.” Your customer service smile grew.

“New student here?” you asked, moving forward again, until you were at the edge of the hall, just between the Weights room and the Cardio room.

He chuckled. “You could say that,” he shrugged, still making no move to walk further into the building. 

“I did say that, actually,” you smirked, then moved to gesture to the courts. “Well, if you want to know what we’ve got to offer, it’s pretty simple. We’ve got racquetball there, though you’ll have to find your own partner. Not too many people really know how to play. A lot of ‘em just hit the ball and run around, but at least it’s good exercise.” The practiced speech came easily to your lips, for which you were grateful. It was really hard not to stare at the skeleton, after all. To stop yourself, you turned away, ducking into the Cardio room. “And over here is our Cardio room. We’ve got treadmills and whatnot in here.” Ducking back out of the room, you started across the hall to the Weights room when it hit you. “…Do you even need to work out?” you asked him as you turned, but his answer was written on his… face? skull?…. before you were even done with the question. He smirked at you, and you snorted. “Well, fine. You know where they are, anyway,” you mutter, trying to ignore the warmth flooding your face as you start back toward the other end of the hall.

“Calm down,” he tried, following you with a wide grin. “Look, the workout stuff. Is it just for students, or could I bring a guest or two?” he tried, and you stopped in the middle of the hall to turn and look at him.

“No guests. We had some problems with them way back, apparently, so the rules say no guests. And don’t bother asking me to break the rules for you,” you added, your tone shifting to a slightly tired one. “I don’t do that.” The two of you stared at each other for several minutes, and then you lifted one hand to gesture toward the split hall. “Down there’s our gym. We hold events and stuff there, so there are times it’s not open, but if there’s nothing going on, then you’re welcome to play some basketball or whatever,” you add. It’s fairly easy to hear the defensive tone in your words, and you turn back to face the office, though you don’t walk off. You were waiting for him to bring up your rude tone, or try to finagle his way into a guest or something. Instead, however, all he did was grunt once before moving past you toward the entrance by the front office.

“Stairs, huh?” he asked, looking up at them, then to either side. A little surprised, you followed him. 

“Yeah,” you whispered, before clearing your throat in disgust. You were capable of talking normally, dammit. It was just that so few people stuck around to hear the whole tour. “Um, the rec room’s to your right. Cafe’s to the left, but honestly, I wouldn’t count on any food from there. Their hours are really fucked up.” It’s only after the words escape you that you flinch. “…Sorry, I mean, their hours are pretty erratic,” you correct yourself, rubbing the back of your neck with one hand.

“Do I make you that nervous?” he finally asked, turning to face you. Under his gaze, you turned away.

“Did you need to know anything else about campus?” you asked, rather than answer the question. Even though you were facing away from him, you could feel him deflate, and you flinched inwardly.

“Nah, I’m good. It was nice to meet you…?” He trailed off slowly, and at that point you realized you’d never introduced yourself.

“Oh god, I’m sorry. I’m _____. I’m a student worker here, so you’ll probably see me around a lot,” you offered quickly. You were aware of just how jarring it was to shift from your nervous tour guide voice to the perkier customer service voice you used for everything else, but he seemed to take it in stride.

“Nice to meetcha, _____,” he offered, amiably, before making his way toward the glass doors nearby. Standing at them, he looked out at the campus. “I’m Sans. Sounds like you know most of this campus pretty well, if you can tell me so much about the Student Center,” he added, tilting his head as he looked back at you. “At least now I know who to come to when I have questions.”

And with that, he pushed his way out of the building, leaving you standing near your office. As you watched him make his way past the library, you became aware of the warmth seeping over your cheeks, and you huffed, turning to sit back down. A movie was definitely in order!


	2. Impulsive Invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You extend an impulsive invitation for lunch... kinda.

The next time you saw the skeleton, you were just coming out of a classroom about two doors down from his. You wouldn’t have even noticed, head down and eyes on your phone as you walked, except for the fact that you almost ran into him. Somehow, he didn’t register in your peripheral vision like you were used to, and you pulled up short just a step from hitting him. “Oh, sorry,” you apologized, frowning as you clicked your phone screen off and shoved it in your pocket. As you realized who you were talking to, your lips curved in a smile. “Sorry, Sans,” you repeated, proud of yourself for remembering his name. “Almost didn’t see you.” As he looked over at you, you shrugged and shifted your backpack a little. “Heading to your next class, or are you done for the day?” 

Sans’ eye sockets narrowed a bit, and he looked around the hall for a moment before shrugging and falling into step beside you. Happy he hadn’t brushed you off, you didn’t notice that everyone else seemed to be avoiding getting too close. People who normally walked in the middle of the hallway were hugging the walls as best they could, but you were happy because there was no ducking and weaving. “Heading out, I guess. You?” he asked, his voice deep as he stared at the floor.

“I have work in an hour or so, so I thought I’d get something to eat before heading in,” you said quietly, your own eyes on your feet. It was easier to avoid stumbling if you watched where you walked. “Did you want to get some lunch? You could ride with me. I mean, my car’s a mess, but if you don’t mind…” You trailed off, feeling suddenly awkward. It wasn’t like you hadn’t extended similar invitations to people all over the campus, but did it make a difference that he was a monster? You weren’t really sure.

Before Sans could answer your question, a voice called out behind you. “Hey, ______! Did you get the writing packet from class?” The two of you stopped and turned to look back, and the man who’d called out to you froze, watching Sans warily.

“Oh, hey Dom,” you said, then blinked. Normally, Dominic would’ve come closer, but he just held back, staring at Sans with narrowed eyes. The staring contest set you on edge enough that you deliberately stepped between the two, catching Dom’s eye. “You had a question?” you asked the younger man, your voice cool and clipped, and the change in tone left him blinking. 

“Oh. Yeah,” he said, his eyes shifting to look over your shoulder at Sans, and you sighed loudly. 

“Hey Sans?” you said, twisting in place to look at the skeleton. Sans shifted his eye lights from Dominic to you, and you waved him over. “This is Dominic. He’s in my creative writing class,” you introduced. “Dom, this is Sans. He’s a new student around here.” And if the words came out a little sharper than you intended, well… they would just have to deal with that. “Now, Dom, your question?” you prompted again. “I’m running out of time before work.”

“Oh, uh… I was just wondering if you had a copy of the writing packet? I needed to write up my critiques before class tomorrow.” You ground your teeth when you realized that Dom still hadn’t stopped looking at Sans, but at least you could answer the question.

“Can you come by the center tonight? Say, after five? I’ll get my critiques done, and then you can just use my copy,” you offered. It took a moment for Dom to look at you again, but he gave you a relieved, if weak smile. 

“Yeah, I can do that,” he said softly. “I owe you.” 

You waved off the words, turning back to Sans. “I’m getting really hungry. How about you, Sans? Gonna have lunch with me?” you asked, well aware he’d never answered your invite from before and wanting him to know the invitation was still on the table. You could feel Dom still watching you from behind, so you squared your shoulders a little more before setting off again.

He chuckled softly, the lights in his eyes just a little brighter as he looked over at you. “Nah, kiddo,” he said casually, waving one hand and ignoring the way Dom’s jaw dropped. “Food’ll just go right through me.” You reached up to rub at the tension in your neck, and that’s when his joke hit. You just stopped in the middle of the hallway, the door only five feet away.

“…What?” you choked. When he turned his grin up to you, you snorted, then clapped a hand over your mouth, groaning. “God, that’s worse than Dad humor.”

His smile faded a bit. “Than what humor?” he asked as you shoved your way out of the building with gusto. You shrugged and headed toward your car, unlocking it and tossing your backpack in the backseat. A part of you wanted to wince when you saw the massive amounts of clutter and trash in the car, but Sans wasn’t the first friend who’d put up with your mess. 

…Friend? Well, acquaintance, at least, you settled on. 

“Dad humor,” you said again, then gestured to the passenger seat. “You can ride with, if you like, even if you don’t want food,” you started to say, looking up at him. His eyes were no longer on you. They were lower, and dim, as though he was upset about something. “Hey… hey Sans,” you called out, finally catching his attention. When he looked up at you again, you tilted your head, ignoring the faint twinge in your neck. You could deal with the oncoming headache later. “What’s wrong?”

“Who did this?” he asked, brushing a phalanx against the car, and you made your way over to the passenger side to see what he was talking about. It took you a moment to register the key marks, and you laughed.

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” you assured him. “Nemo’s old. Those have been around for as long as I’ve had him.” When Sans didn’t look convinced, you waved your hand. “Seriously, hop in. I’m starving.”

Sans frowned deeply, tracing his finger over the vicious scratch once more before opening the door. “…Sure, kiddo,” he agreed softly, and you smiled gently, because even you could tell he hadn’t planned to say yes at first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I went to google to look up "singular for phalanges", and it came up with an auto-fill suggestion before I was even done with the word singular. I have a sneaking suspicion this may be due to Undertale. >.>


	3. Ride Along

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans learns a little more about you during the ride.

“do you do this with everyone?” Sans asked as you plugged your phone into the tape adapter of the old car, and clicked play on your playlist. Almost immediately, your hand shot to the volume and wrenched it down when the music came blasting out of the speakers. Only once the music had dropped to an appropriate background level did you turn your attention to the question. 

“The inviting you to ride with me for lunch thing?” you asked over the perky foreign pop music, even as your head began to bop to the sound. “Not everyone.” You shrugged lightly, not really watching what you were saying as you focused on driving. “It’s not anything major, though. I mean, I wouldn’t invite… oh… Kody Green, but that’s because I can’t stand him.” You flashed Sans a grin. “I’m not exactly the nicest person around, can you tell?”

Too busy driving, you didn’t catch the way Sans’ eyes dropped to your chest, or how his browbones furrowed in thought at the joke. “so why me, then?” he finally asked. You glanced over again as you heard the faint edge to his voice, but he had turned away to stare out the window, giving you little insight into his expression. 

“Honestly?” you ask, as you pull into your favorite drive-through. The line waiting gave you a chance to stop and really look at Sans. “Because you’re funny. You sure you don’t want anything?”

Sans blinked, looking over at you for a moment before chuckling. “that’s it, kiddo? just… i’m funny?” He shook his head. “so you just invite anyone who makes you laugh? seems kinda dangerous, if you ask me.”

You let out a wry chuckle and shrug. “How else am I gonna make friends with people?” you ask softly. “I mean… let’s face it, Sans. It’s not like I fit in much with the other students at school.” You pulled up to the speaker, and held up a hand for him to wait while you gave your order. When you were done, you glanced over, but he shook his head, staring at you oddly, and you shrugged again, getting your total and pulling forward a bit. With the line in place, you’d have to wait again, which gave him the perfect chance to ask his next question.

“why not?”

“Why not what?” 

“why don’t you fit in?” Sans asked, his eye sockets narrowed as he stared at you. You turned to stare back in surprise. “You’re human. What’s so different about you that keeps you from fitting in?” 

You snorted, shrugging even as you reach for your phone to change the music. “Okay, yeah. I’m not a monster, but fitting in isn’t a human universal thing,” you say softly. “I’m old for a student. Spent some time away from school.” You hate the way you’re defensive about your age, but the faculty and advisers always assured you that it wasn’t that big a deal. And yet, you’d seen how different it was.

“that’s a big deal?” Sans asked softly, tilting his head at you, and you shrugged.

“Well, not as big a deal as it used to be, but… I dunno. I come to school, and I’m left with this intense ‘when I grow up, I want to be’ feeling. I hate that. I’m close to forty. I should already know what I want to do by now, right?” You weren’t quite sure why this was even coming out, but it felt good to admit to someone. Although… the more you thought about it, the more awkward you felt. Was it really appropriate to compare a monster’s experiences of isolation with your own? Surely that was crass.

“heh.” Sans kept quiet other than the brief laugh while you got your food. Once the bag was stowed on the floor near his feet and you’d rolled up the window, however, he spoke up again. “so… this is like a desperation thing?” 

“You don’t pull punches, do you?” you snorted, shrugging. “I guess a little. I mean, it’s not a big deal if you completely ignore me after this, but I thought we could chat for a bit, at least. And you know where I work, if you ever need some help with anything. I mean, not that you would, but it never hurts to know where there’s a friendly face on campus, right?” 

“didn’t expect you to admit it so easily, pal,” Sans noted, leaning back in his seat. “why do all this to try for friends, anyway?”

You were silent all the way to the stoplight as you thought about the question, but Sans didn’t try to push you to answer. The bright beat of Korean pop music was an odd counterpoint to the thoughts running through your head, but you were so familiar with the music that it didn’t distract you. “I’m crap at making friends in real life,” you finally said aloud, staring at the street instead of glancing at Sans. This failure was something you really hated admitting. It made you feel broken, and you waited for the usual noises of sympathy and pity to start. 

Instead, you were treated to a quiet chuckle. That jerked your eyes over to where Sans was staring at you, the pinpoint white of his eyes relaxed and his grin definitely amused and more relaxed than he’d been when he’d climbed into the car. After a second, you offered a faint smile back to him, not quite sure what to say.

“It’s a lot easier for me to trust people online than face-to-face,” you admitted, looking over to where the campus was back in view. “I mean, I know people lie about a lot of shit, but…” You trailed off, realizing there wasn’t really any way to continue what you were saying and make sense, so you simply shrugged as you pulled into the Student Center parking lot. “I guess it’s maybe not as much about trust as it is being myself,” you whispered eventually, turning off the car and simply sitting there. 

“i wouldn’t worry too much about it, kid,” Sans said, his voice low. You looked over, trying to summon up the brash grin you used to dismiss your failings, but the grin died as you met his eyes. His own smile was there, but fainter, more serious. “you’re a better human than you give yourself credit for,” he added, his eyes flicking down to your chest. Startled, you glanced down at your shirt, not sure what he was looking at, and he smirked. “all you have to do is find the right Companion, am i right?”

Your eyes jerked back up to his as you reached up to touch the white writing on the front of your shirt, and then you were grinning widely. “You’re a WHOVIAN!” you gasped, jerked out of the seriousness as you recognized the reference to your shirt… and your favorite show. He just laughed, moving to get out of the car.

“thanks for the ride, kid,” he offered, waiting as you climbed out as well, clutching your purse in one hand and your fast food bag in the other. You hip-bumped the car door closed and moved to the sidewalk before turning to look at him. 

“Thanks for listening,” you gave him a smile. “I guess I’ll see you around?”

“guess so,” Sans nodded, moving to stand beside you. He stared at you for a few seconds, then turned to go, and your chest constricted slightly.

“Take care!” you called out, needing to end the conversation on a good note somehow. He didn’t turn back, but he did hold up a gloved hand in a wave to acknowledge you, and you relaxed slightly as you headed into the center.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry I've been gone from this story for so long. Trying to figure out where the story's going and what I want to include has been rougher than I expected because I started out writing this as a pantser, and that's not something I am. So I'm going to be making an outline of where I want the story to go and stuff soon.
> 
> I'd like to give a shoutout to [The Adorable Occult](http://archiveofourown.org/users/theadorableoccult) and [SupaSaiyanSwagg](http://archiveofourown.org/users/supasaiyanswagg) for giving me wonderful encouragement and support! They're awesome people, and everyone should go read their works!
> 
> July is [Camp Nanowrimo](http://campnanowrimo.org/), and this story is one of three I'm going to be working on as my project for Camp. There's space in my cabin, if anyone would like to join in the crazy fun. Just let me know here or [on tumblr](http://thegreatwordologist.tumblr.com/).


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